There are many reasons why a person would want to support Bethlehem University. First, it’s the only Christian university in the Holy Land. Second, it provides an excellent education under the leadership of the the Christian Brothers in their LaSallian tradition. Third, it is focused on the education of Palestinians. Fourth, it serves to educate a significant population of female students in a region where the education of women is often minimized or even forbidden. Fifth, the institution often suffers from curfews and closures by the Israeli authorities (the longest closure being 3 years in the late 1980s). Sixth, and most practically, it only costs $4K a year to fund the full tuition of a student.
However, these aren’t the reasons why I trying to fund a four year scholarship for one student to Bethlehem University. Certainly, all of those things, and more, are great reasons to support the University. But, to be honest, I’m not interested in supporting the University so much as I am interested in supporting the students there in the West Bank.
Sometimes the practical reasons are not as important as their meaning. What does it mean for the Christian Brothers to run the only Christian university in the city where Christ was born all while the Christian minority is sharply decreasing? What does it mean for the University to educate women who will likely never have the opportunity to use their education because of both cultural prohibitions or expectations? What does it mean for this University to be a place where people from any religious confession may receive an education in a place where religious divisions are often a cause of violence? What does it mean that in the midst of all these conflicts there resides a University built around a chapel for the perpetuation of the Sacrifice of Peace? To me, the meaning is ineffable, its value being immeasurable.
I desire to support the University because it is doing more for the cause of peace in the Holy Land than most other institutions. Why? Well, because they form students in a way that gives us hope that peace is possible by modeling that peace. When I see the students I see hope.
